Chief Justice John Roberts: 'We have come to take democracy for granted'

WASHINGTON—Chief Justice John Roberts lamented a decline in civic awareness in the country and urged the federal judiciary to help fill the void at a time when social media has hastened the spread of false information.

“We have come to take democracy for granted, and civic education has fallen by the wayside,” Roberts said in an annual year-end report on the federal judiciary. “In our age, when social media can instantly spread rumor and false information on a grand scale, the public’s need to understand our government, and the protections it provides, is ever more vital.”

The chief justice’s message comes as he is set to preside at the Senate impeachment trial of President Donald Trump. While Roberts did not refer to the pending case against the president, he reminded his colleagues of their collective role in maintaining public trust in government.

“I ask my judicial colleagues to continue their efforts to promote public confidence in the judiciary, both through their rulings and through civic outreach” Roberts wrote. “We should reflect on our duty to judge without fear or favor, deciding each matter with humility, integrity, and dispatch. As the New Year begins, and we turn to the tasks before us, we should each resolve to do our best to maintain the public’s trust that we are faithfully discharging our solemn obligation to equal justice under law.”

Trump himself has been among the federal judiciary's harshest critics when rulings have gone against him. He has often vented those frustrations on social media in the wake of adverse decisions in cases ranging from his personal business interests to immigration policy during the course of his presidency.

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"We should celebrate our strong and independent judiciary, a key source of national unity and stability," Roberts wrote. "But we should also remember that justice is not inevitable."

At the same time, the chief justice said that federal judges are positioned to play a crucial role in advancing civic engagement in the country.

"Judges from coast to coast have made their courthouses available as forums for civic education," Roberts said, at one point making an indirect reference to the efforts of Merrick Garland, the chief judge for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.

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Nominated to the Supreme Court by President Barack Obama following the 2016 death of Associate Justice Antonin Scalia, Garland was blocked by the Republican-controlled Senate. The seat was ultimately filled by Trump nominee Neil Gorsuch.

Referring to Garland, Roberts said that the "chief judge of the District of Columbia Circuit has, over the past two decades, quietly volunteered as a tutor at a local elementary school, inspiring his court colleagues to join in the effort."

"I am confident that many other federal judges, without fanfare or acclaim, are playing similar selfless roles throughout the country," he said.